You Hold Your Breath, I'll Hold My Liquor
by UnfamiliarSky
Summary: Before her wedding day, Chloe's bachelorette night out doesn't go as planned. A long TWOSHOT about a long night. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

_**AN- Hey guys! I haven't forgotten about Her Words! Far from it, I actually took the notebook I'm writing that story in on a trip to visit my sister in Nashville last week so I could finish up the next chapter and accidentally left it behind! This one shot is an idea that came to me when I read about the Castin bachelor/bachelorette party. I figured I'd do it now to atone for not updating the other sooner. She's supposedly mailing it out to me this week so as soon as it comes I'll put up the next bit for that.**_

 _ **In the mean time I hope you enjoy this! I had fun writing it!**_

* * *

A combination of pulsing music and voices bounced from wall to wall, filling the building with life. The colorful lights flew around the room, dancing along to the rhythms played just as the bodies of the patrons did. One particular group of club goers were crowded in the corner; squeezing more than what could comfortably fit at the table and letting out a loud series of whoops and cheers as the group watched the redhead throw back a shot.

Chloe coughed as she set the glass on the table and drummed her hands on either side of it.

"Yes!" she stretched the word out loudly as she repeatedly hit the table.

Her eyes moved over all her friends sharing the night with her before they landed on the girl squeezed in next to her. Her best friend. Aubrey gave her a bright smile she reached over and adjusted the sash that had slipped slightly off of Chloe's shoulder. The bright pink word ' _Bride'_ written across it.

Chloe scrunched up her nose at her friend playfully and the blonde repeated the gesture back at her.

"You look happy, Chlo," Aubrey's voice was a bit louder than normal to be heard over the music.

"That's 'cause I am," was her friend's immediate response as she's grabbed her water for a sip; making a point to have fun on her big night, but still keep a clear head.

"No I mean," Aubrey started, pausing a moment to really look at her best friend. The bright spark in her eyes. The slight flush of her cheeks from dancing. The shining smile. The way her right hand kept absently reaching over to her left to touch the ring on her left, "For serious, Chloe, I've never seen you look this happy. It's…beautiful."

Chloe bit her lip, though it did nothing to keep her smile from stretching even wider on her face.

"I've never _been_ this happy, Bree," she answered honestly, leaning in so she wouldn't have to fight the music to be heard, "It's like, I don't know, I was happy before, don't get me wrong, but now…it's like, it's like someone painted the whole world just for me. Like the colors are brighter, the music is clearer. It's everything, Aubrey. Like, 100% undiluted happiness."

She paused for a second, reaching over and grabbing Aubrey's hands with both of hers, still as touchy-feely as she'd always been.

"I mean, yeah, I'm a nervous too, whenever I look at this," she lifted her left hand, showing the ring, it was on the modest side compared to other rings girl's would probably dream about for their engagement ring, but to Chloe it was perfect, "I'll look at it and get so nervous about everything it means, but it's like good nerves, you know? Like I think about it and my heart speeds up and slows down at the same time. Does that make any sense?"

Aubrey grinned.

"Not at all," she commented with a wink, "But that's love."

The redhead laughed for a moment before looking at the other girl seriously for a moment, her eyes dancing with excitement.

"Aubrey," she began quietly, "I'm getting married tomorrow."

Aubrey squeezed her hand tightly, feeling Chloe's excitement along with her. Tomorrow evening she'd be watching her very best friend have the biggest day of her life, "You bet your ass you are."

Chloe bounced with excited energy and then repeated herself, shouting out loudly, "I'm getting married tomorrow!"

The group at their table let out a loud cheer that was made louder by the other people in the club who heard and clapped for her announcement. Aubrey's phone buzzed and she smiled at the picture of Jesse that popped up.

"Look at that," Aubrey commented; showing Chloe the screen, "they're probably on their way."

Aubrey thought it was cute, if a little unusual, that the plan was to have both parties separately and then join up halfway through the night. But really, cute but unusual were the perfect words she could use to describe the celebrated couple's relationship…if you didn't know them personally.

"Hey," she answered her phone, one finger pressing against her ear, "Are you guys on your way?"

The smile fell from her face, her eyes flying over to Chloe briefly.

"I'm going to step outside for a second so I can hear, ok? Be right back."

Chloe nodded before going back to what Amy had been saying. Aubrey forced a smile and then hurried outside. Once out there, she put the phone back to her ear.

"What did you say?" she asked her boyfriend sharply, praying she'd heard him wrong in the club.

"I said…" he paused, "I can't find Beca."

"You can't find her?" she asked with disbelief, "I know she's short, but what the hell Jesse? How can you not find her? Where is she?"

"Sweetie, sweetie, look, you can yell at me later, ok? All you want, I won't even try to interrupt you, I promise, but right now I need help," he explained, "No one knows where she is or noticed when she disappeared. Do you have _any_ idea where she might go?"

"Are you kidding?" she replied, "I don't know how that girl's mind works when she's sober, how the hell would I know where she'd go after drinking you with you all night? The only place she'd want to be, probably, would be where Chloe is but we didn't tell them either of them where the other was going to be so they couldn't try to sneak off to each other before it was time! Chloe's the only person who's ever known how that girl thinks."

"I know!" he groaned; after a moment, "So…?"

"God I can't tell Chloe, this will freak her out!"

"Then what do we do? You want me to get everyone to go up and down the streets shouting her name?

Aubrey put her hand to her forehead, "You really have no idea where she went?"

"I don't know. I don't know when she wandered off or how much of a head start she had or even what direction she went or –"

"Ok, Ok," the former Bella captain stopped him, "I'll tell her. Just stay there and call me if anything changes; hopefully it will in the next 10 seconds."

The call ended and the blonde took a deep breath, putting a hand to her stomach as she could already feel the nerves making it churn. After a moment to control herself, she went inside and saw Chloe with Stacie on the dance floor. She anxiously approached, hearing Chloe let out a deep laugh as Stacie spun her around. The redhead stopped when she saw Aubrey before her.

"Hey Bree, are they on their way?"

"Not exactly."

* * *

"You lost my fiancé?"

Jesse flinched back from the usually perky redhead at her harsh words.

Knowing he wouldn't find any help from his girlfriend, he looked to Benji who appeared just as nervous as Jesse felt under the two pairs of eyes in front of them, and Cynthia Rose was already trying to slip away from view of her former acapella leaders.

"Kind of," he confessed with a wince.

"What happened?" Chloe demanded to know

"I don't know. We were sitting and talking and drinking a little…" he saw the way Chloe crossed her arms, "ok, a lot. I went to the bathroom, I came out and talked with Luke for a while. By the time I came back again, she was gone."

Chloe looked to the others standing with Jesse from the party.

"And no one noticed her leave? No one saw her?" she asked, "This is supposed to be _her_ party, and none of you were paying any attention to what she was doing?"

They all shared identical sheepish looks at her words. They mumbled their excuses, all knowing how pathetic they sounded in the face of what was happening.

Chloe shook her head at them and then went over to the bartender, aware of the others following behind her.

"Excuse me?" she called his attention while pulling out her phone. She held up the screen with a photo of Beca, "This girl was here earlier. Do you know where she went?"

The guy sighed loudly.

"Like I already told your buddy back there, No," he stated, "No, I didn't see where she went. Because, like I _also_ already told him, I had just come out from the back to cover for Alex's break when he asked."

"Ok, Sorry," she stepped a bit back from the counter, "What about Alex, can I talk to him? Where is he?"

" _She_ is on break," he told her, "If you want to risk interrupting it, she should be out the back."

Chloe thanked him and hurried towards the back door. Right before she got there, the bride-to-be stopped and spun around. Her sudden action caused the group following her to halt.

"Wait, wait," Chloe announced, holding up her hands, "You guys should get everyone and head over to the club."

A series of protests began and Chloe spoke up again.

"Amy is doing damage control right now, but people will start to wonder what's going on. If you guys are all there, everyone can assume Beca and I are spending some time alone together."

"Chloe, I think I should-"

" _I_ think you told Beca you'd stick with her all night until it was time for us to all get together. I think you're only job tonight was to look after my fiancé," she paused seeing the young man look properly chastised, "So now you should just do what I say."

Aubrey couldn't help the smirk that came to her face as her friend shut her boyfriend down. She'd help him lick his wounds later, but now was not the time.

Jesse only nodded in agreement and the group gathered up and left, Aubrey sticking behind next to Chloe. Even though the redhead hadn't said it out loud, she was sure Chloe didn't actually expect her to leave her alone. Blue eyes landed on green and Chloe was glad her best friend was with her to keep her from going crazy.

"It's ok," Aubrey said, "You ready?"

Chloe nodded and turned back to the door. The two Bella's stepped out into the back alley. Aubrey grimaced, trying to direct her shoes around the suspicious mess on the ground as she followed after her friend.

"Alex?" Chloe asked as she approached a woman with dark cropped hair and an intricate tattoo that took up most of her upper arm. She looked up from her phone to Chloe.

"Do I know you?"

"No, I'm," she lit up her phone again, "I'm looking for this girl. Did you see her?"

The girl, Alex, blew a stream of smoke out of her mouth, causing Aubrey to flinch and wave her hand in front of her face to clear it away. Alex smirked at the response and gave the blonde a wink before leaning in a bit to look at the picture she was being shown.

"Yeah I remember her; she's cute," the woman commented and Chloe had to tell herself to focus on the problem at hand rather than the possessive flare that came to her chest when the woman said that, "Who is she; your friend?"

"Oh, actually, she's my fiancé," Chloe said, lifting the sash a bit that she was still wearing.

"Oh," Alex replied with a chuckle.

"What?"

"Well, I remember her," she started, "I remember she wasn't acting like she was anyone fiancé

At the words, Aubrey immediately moved to stand a bit in front of her friend, as if she could physically protect her from what the accusation sounded like.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means, I saw your friend's fiancé letting herself be all chatted up with one of our more _popular_ regulars if you know what I mean," Alex recalled, "plus your girl definitely had digits written on her arm and the next time I looked, she and Liz were both gone."

Aubrey continued to glare at the girl who seemed far too happy to tell them this.

"You know for a fact they left together?" Aubrey asked darkly, "Cause if you don't then you should be careful what you say."

"I mean, I didn't see them leave together but-"

"Thank you."

Aubrey's sharp words ended the conversation and she turned around grabbing Chloe around the shoulder and guiding her back inside.

"Don't listen to her, Chlo, she's just stirring things up for fun," she advised.

Chloe was still silent as Aubrey sat her down at the bar once more. The blonde noticed the way her friend was twisting her engagement ring around her finger.

"Hey you don't believe her, do you?"

"No. No, I know Beca wouldn't do that to me. But," she paused, "but she was drinking. According to Jesse, a lot. This Liz person obviously … _wanted_ her. What if she didn't something? Gave her something or took advantage of her being drunk and got her to leave and-"

"Hey, no," Aubrey commanded, "Do not go down the road. We have no reason to think that way."

"She said she was a regular, right?" Chloe suddenly asked, "Maybe she was regular enough that they know a little about her. Like maybe, where we could find her or something?"

Aubrey was surprised when Chloe suddenly stood up and leaned over the bar, calling out to get the bartender's attention once again.

"What now?" he asked as he came back to them, "I do have an actual job to do."

"I need to know about one of your regulars; Liz?"

"Jesus, ask her yourself," he stated, "You've walked by her, like three times since you've been here," he informed and gestured to a brunette at a nearby table, "I've got shit to do."

Chloe practically ran over towards the stranger sitting alone at the table and seemingly looking out at some of the other people there.

"Where's Beca?" the redhead blurted out as soon as she reached the table, shocking the other woman.

"Who?" Chloe groaned and showed the picture again, "Oh the pocketsize cutie?"

"Where is she?"

"How the hell should I know?"

"You were talking with her, wrote your number on her arm," Aubrey reminded, " _Some_ people were under the impression you left together."

Liz rolled her eyes, "We definitely didn't leave together. Lord knows, I tried, but that girl was oblivious as all hell; could've rubbed my tits on her face and she wouldn't have caught on."

"Ew," Aubrey let out, scrunching up her face in disgust at the image.

Chloe didn't pay any attention to her friend and just went on, "The phone number?"

"Already there when I sat down," she said taking a sip from her drink, "she was weirdly protective of it, so whoever _did_ give it to her must've been a hot piece."

"Protective?"

"Yeah, girl got all worked up when she saw it had smudged a bit," she recalled, "I couldn't read what all it said, a number and something above it; like a message or something, I don't know."

Chloe's mind was flying. Whose number did Beca end up with that was so important? Where _was_ Beca?

"She was pretty far to the wind though, rambling all sorts of stuff. Little thing like that probably doesn't hold the booze too well, huh? She kept saying something about toners," she laughed, "Even started talking some Italian at one point."

"Beca speaks Italian?" Aubrey asked, looking at Chloe in surprise.

"No," she responded, "a little German, but that's it."

"This was definitely Italian," Liz went on, finishing her drink, "I'm not exactly worldly but this was definitely Italian. She kept saying my bella this, my bella that."

Chloe couldn't help the flutter of her heart suddenly speeding up. Occasionally when her fiancé was in a particularly _wanting_ mood, Chloe would pull out her old Bella's uniform. It drove Beca insane and she would call Chloe 'My Bella' the entire time.

"Then she started complaining," the woman's voice brought Chloe out of the vivid memory, "Asking why it was called permanent marker if it smudged so easy. I told her, there's ways to make it permanent and she should know that considering the ink I saw on that girl. She said I was right and then left."

"She just left?"

"Yeah, no fun for Liz, tonight so far," the woman paused a second and looked Aubrey up and down, "You want to help change that legs?"

"Excuse me?" Aubrey replied.

"Oh my God, I know where to look," Chloe announced, " Come on."

Chloe grabbed Aubrey's arm, pulling her friend away from the woman, and hurrying outside.

"Where are we going?" Aubrey asked, forcing her feet to stay under her as Chloe dragged her.

"We need to find the nearest tattoo parlor," the redhead announced, "And quick before Beca ends up with some skanks number on her arm forever."

"Ok, well, we're not exactly in high society here," Aubrey stated, opening her arms to gesture to the neighborhood, "They're probably all over. We don't even know what direction she went."

"Ugh!" Chloe groaned; every step forward came with a big brick wall to climb over, "Come on, Beca. Give me something. Where'd you go?"

She looked around, stepping one way and then another as she searched for any kind of clue. Her eyes went to the bus stop, squinting a bit to look at it before a wide smile broke over her face.

"This way," she stated confidently.

"Ok, how do you know?"

Chloe only continued to smile and pointed at the bus shelter. She led Aubrey over to it, specifically to the large backlit ad on the side. It was advertising the newest Justin Bieber album. A big 'X' was over his face in black marker and the words ' _Play real music'_ written in handwriting that was, though sloppier than normal, definitely Beca's.

"Of course, follow the vandalism," Aubrey commented, hanging back a split second to look at it as Chloe continued to walk by. She sighed before following her, "You know, his music isn't _that_ bad don't know. His new stuff-"

"Aubrey, focus!" Chloe called while rolling her eyes.

It wasn't long once they had a direction that the girls found a small space with the word _Tattoos_ in bright red neon.

"Oh God," Aubrey commented at the sight of it, "I can't go in there."

"Shut up, Bree," Chloe dismissed, marching through the door under the ringing bell that hung above it.

The blonde shifted her weight a grimaced. Shaking out her hands, she pulled a Kleenex out of her purse and used it to grab the door handle without needing to touch it and followed. Chloe was already in front of a frighteningly large man with more tattooed skin than not and more piercings in his ear than even her friend's fiancé.

"Has this girl been in here tonight?" holding up the phone once again.

"Yeah she was here, like," running his hand over the patchy scruff on his jaw, "I don't know, forty-five minutes or an hour ago?"

"Oh God, she didn't get a tattoo, did she?"

"She tried, but I have a strict sobriety policy in my shop," he informed her, leaning his arms against the counter, "that girl was worlds away from sober so I told her no. She was plenty pissed but left without a fight."

"Is there another parlor nearby that might do it?" Chloe asked, once again in the position of not knowing where to go next.

He shrugged, "Can't say for sure who would or wouldn't, but I can give you a list of what's around here if that would help?

"Yeah, thanks."

The guy bent behind the counter a few seconds before standing up straight and handing Chloe a sheet of paper. His eyes landed on Aubrey.

"You got any tats?"

The blonde looked offended, "Absolutely not!"

"You've got great skin for it. What do you say?" he commented, "I could give you one; put it somewhere nice and secret."

Aubrey clamped her lips shut to fight the gag that appeared when he flicked his tongue at her, revealing yet another piercing.

"Ok," Chloe intervened, "Thank you."

She pulled her friend toward the exit before she ended up vomiting in the store when he called out to them.

"I hope you find your friend."

Chloe's feet froze when she turned around

"What did you say?"

"I hope you find your friend," he repeated with a shrug.

Chloe's eyes widened and she nearly yanked Aubrey out of her shoes as she pulled her out the door for what felt like the hundredth time that night. The other Barden alum still in shock over what had just happened; what seemed to keep happening that night.

"I'm so stupid. I'm _so_ stupid!"

"What?"

"Beca's phone!"

"Jesse already tried her a million times. She's not answering," Aubrey reminded her.

"No, not to call it. What that guy said, I can't believe I forgot about it."

"About what? Chloe I'm not following."

"Find my friends!" she declared, "The app. Beca made me download when we were up in Portland over Christmas. I tried to go out shopping without her and got lost. I called her all freaked out cause I didn't know where I was or how to get back to her mom's place, she had me download it and follow each other so she could see my location and tell me where to go," she recalled the interesting holiday adventure, "Aubrey we can see where the other's phone is. I can't believe I didn't remember!"

"Less talking, more finding!" Aubrey encouraged.

"Ok, Ok, hold on," another few seconds passed while the bride-to-be hit the appropriate spots on her phone before triumphantly looked up, "she's eight miles away!"

"Damn she moves fast."

"She must've called a cab or a car or something," Chloe figured, "Come on, let's get back to your car. Let's go!"

The two took various streets and turns until it showed they were at the address Beca apparently was.

"What the hell?" Chloe wondered as they realized they were apparently at a taxi dispatch station.

"Maybe she couldn't pay for her cab so they're making her do car washes or something," Aubrey suggested, "You know, like dishes at a restaurant."

The girl's entered the station, unsure where to go. They saw a desk with an older woman nearby. Having no better plan, they approached.

"Excuse me?" Chloe began, waiting for the woman to look up. When she did, she surprised both girls by speaking first.

"Ah ha, realized what you forgot, huh?"

"What?" she asked confused.

"Hold on, let me…" she trailed off, opening a locked cabinet behind her desk and pulling out a familiar item. She set it on the counter in front of the girls.

Beca's cell phone.

Normally I'd need proof that it's yours, but," she reached over and pushed the home button; the screen lit up showing a picture of Beca and Chloe together, "I think that's enough proof."

She smiled and Chloe tried to return it, but felt completely deflated at once again failing to find her fiancé.

"Thank you, but, it actually belongs to her," she pointed at Beca in the photo, "We're trying to find her. She left her phone in a car?"

"Yeah," the woman nodded, adding after a moment, "It happens a lot."

"Well, can you tell us where she was dropped off?"

The woman's eyes moved across the room for a moment.

"Hold on, dear, Stephen!" she called to a man behind them, waving him over, "Stephen you were car 237?"

The man, a middle aged guy with graying hair came to stand near them, "Yeah, what's up?"

"You remember where you dropped this girl off?" the woman gestured to the phone on the counter.

"Yeah, I remember her," she was a weird one, "took her to that 24 hour gym on Elmer."

"Gym?" Chloe repeated, that night couldn't get stranger, "Beca hates exercise. Why would she go to the gym?"

The guy ran a hand through his hair and raised the other one to show his lack of knowledge, "She just told me take her to the nearest place with showers. Gym was the closest I could think of."

"Thank you!" Chloe told him excitedly, picking Beca's phone up and turning to hurry out.

The cab driver flicked his eyes over to Aubrey, looking her up and down, "You looking for a ride?"

"No thank you, we drove," she answered politely, gesturing over her shoulder and starting to turn around.

He smirked, "I wasn't talking about a car, sugar."

Aubrey quickly backed away before turning to follow Chloe, "Ok, what the hell is going on tonight?"

Not long after leaving, the girl's walked into the brightly lit gym. There was a small group of what could only be employees standing at the sign-in desk discussing something amongst themselves.

"Excuse us," Chloe said, jogging up to them, "I'm looking for a girl who was brought here a little while ago."

She was about to show the photo yet again when the thin blonde man spoke up.

"Let me guess: short, drunk, brunette?"

"Yes!" Chloe stated with relief, "Please tell me she's still here!"

"Still here?" he repeated, crossing his arms over his chest, "She won't leave! We were about to call the police."

"Thank God!" Aubrey exhaled, at the same time Chloe said:

"No don't call the police!" she pleaded, "I'll take care of her. Where is she?"

"Women's locker room; she's been in the shower talking to herself and doing something she thinks might be singing. She's making a lot of our members uncomfortable.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Chloe called back as she ran past them towards the sign that said Locker Rooms.

As soon as she stepped into the locker room Chloe could hear her. At first it was quiet and impossible to really tell what she was saying, but it was still enough to finally calm the soaring anxiety that had settled in her stomach the second Aubrey told her what happened.

As she got closer to the shower, Beca's voice became louder and decipherable. Chloe found her way to the source of the sound and peered through the shower curtain. The sight of Beca sitting down in the corner of the shower greeted her and the redhead let out a deep breath. She took a moment to just watch her and she trailed her finger over the tile while familiar words slurred out.

"…ghost town…haunted love. Raise'er voice, sticksnstones may break…" she trailed off a second before coming back to it again, "break m'bones. Shoot me down…ugh, no, wrroong part. M'talkin loud…sayin much…" Chloe grinned, finally pulling back the curtain and stepping in the small space.

Beca apparently hadn't noticed her yet, still looking at the wall and she half spoke, half sang the song. Chloe moved to squat down in front of her and started to quietly sing the chorus.

" _I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose,"_ Beca's eyes widened and she looked over at her, _"Fire away, Fire away."_

Chloe stopped singing and looked at the brunette, a bit disheveled from her adventure.

"Chloe!" She suddenly said loudly, leaning towards her in a sloppy attempt to wrap her arms around her; causing the other girl to make sure she didn't knock them both over. Beca only rambled on excitedly, not noticing or caring about the near fall, "You came! I knew you'd come. They told me to leave, but I told them, I said to them, I can't leave 'cause I gotta wait for Chloe. I told 'em I have to be in the shower, 'cause she always finds me when I'm in shower, and I was right. See, here you are!"

Chloe laughed and swept hair away from the drunk girl's face, "Here I am."

Beca smiled while the redhead helped her up to her feet. Once standing, the slightly taller girl gave her a good look, making sure she hadn't unintentionally caused herself any harm on her wild night out.

"You ok, sweetie?"

Beca nodded and then leaned into the other girl, wrapping her arms around her waist and burying her face into her neck. Chloe felt the warm breath dance over her skin as he spoke.

"I missed you."

"I missed you, too," Chloe smiled softly and let her head rest on top of Beca's as the brunette sighed against her. Light blue eyes glanced over and saw Aubrey standing just outside the shower giving them a small smile as well. Now Chloe was the one who sighed, running her hand down Beca's back, "Let's go home."

Beca kept her arms wrapped around Chloe during the walk to the car, the couple ignoring the looks they were given as the moved by the gym staff. Well Chloe ignored them, Beca was aware of nothing but the girl she pressed against.

At Aubrey's car, the couple ended up in the back seat together while the blonde drove, understanding that when Chloe told Beca they would go home, she meant for Aubrey to know they would literally be going home. The party wasn't important now. As she drove towards the couple's apartment, Chloe was stretched over the backseat with Beca curled up, practically on top of her; refusing to let go or loosen her grip until her whole body began to relax into the sleep it was probably desperate for after the drinking and everything on top of that.

Getting the small DJ up to their apartment was a little more difficult that Chloe wished, as the girl was more or less dead weight even though she occasionally made moves with her feet that mimicked walking. Once inside their home, Chloe immediately led her fiancé to the bed and helped her lay down.

The redhead sat on the edge of the mattress, looking down at her fiancé for a minute who was not completely unconscious yet. Beca reached her hand over and grabbed Chloe's.

"Chlo," she started sleepily.

"Yeah?"

The girl smiled brightly as her eyes began to close, "I can't wait to marry you."

Her grip went slack, her smile relaxing to a serene look and Chloe knew the woman was now fully asleep. The older girl smiled back at her, bringing up her hand and pressing kiss to her knuckles.

As she did, her eyes caught sight of the markings on the inside of Beca's forearm that poked out from under her pushed up sleeve. Curiously, Chloe slid the rest of the fabric to finally get a look at this mysterious number she'd heard so much about.

Reading over what was written, Chloe let out a small laugh before getting both of them comfortable and triple checking that their alarm was set. The redhead had just laid down on the bed when Beca instinctively rolled towards her, throwing an arm over her stomach and nuzzling close to the warmth she provided.

Chloe remembered what she'd said to Aubrey that night about happiness. It was even truer now than it had been then. With that in mind and the knowledge of what was to come the next day, she laid back and slowly began to fall asleep, her finger tracing over the writing on Beca's skin that read:

 _If lost call 404-676-5151_

The handwriting was Beca's.

The number was Chloe's.

* * *

 _Fin!_

 ** _**What did you guys think?_**

 ** _This was originally a one shot, but I'm thinking I might make it a two and the next chapter show Beca's side of the crazy night if you guys wanted to see drunk Beca shenanigans._**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm so glad you guys enjoyed the first bit. I'll admit I had a lot of fun writing it and imagining Chloe and Aubrey's hunt. Now as mentioned (and encouraged by you all) the flip side of the evening. This is also long but Beca's adventure got away from me while writing it out but I'm really happy with it and I sure hope you are.**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

The group was gathered around in the bar. Now that Jesse had finally managed to get Beca there, the gang of Barden alums circled around. Beca tried not to roll her eyes at the atmosphere of the hole in the wall they decided would house "her" party. It was so cliché it was painful.

Kenny Loggins blared through the room as she thought on the fact that this party wasn't really for her at all; if they wanted to do something for her, they would've let her stay at home. Throwing a party for Chloe made sense. The other woman, _her fiancé,_ was a social creature. She enjoyed going out with friends and letting loose whereas Beca was definitely the opposite. She only ever really went to these types of things for Chloe. Tonight being no exception, up to the moment Jesse and Aubrey came to pick up the couple and take them to their respective get togethers, Beca tried to cancel. But, as always, Chloe was able to get her to reluctantly walk out the door.

"Danger zone!" she heard Jesse sing along as he returned to their group, a gathering of shot glasses precariously held between his hands, "Beca's going right into the danger zone!"

He smiled his big beaming smile, thinking he'd done something special, "Get it? Marriage: the ultimate danger zone."

"Your wit never ceases to impress," she remarked dryly, one eyebrow lifting just enough to convey that she meant no real insult.

He continued to grin as he made sure to give as he made sure to give a glass to everyone before leaving only two in his hands. He held one out for the woman of the hour.

"Dude, no," she tried, "I don't want to get messed up tonight. I've got kind of a big day tomorrow?"

"Oh you got plans tomorrow?" he asked jokingly, earning a light punch to his arm which only had him laughing, "Easy there Rocky. You're not getting married at the crack of dawn. You'll have all kinds of time to be all fresh and cleaned up. Plus, you know your number one aca-fella is looking out for you tonight."

Beca rolled her eyes at his self-given nickname, which he still pulled out even after they'd graduated. After a few moments of insistence she gave in and reached for a glass.

"Ok everyone!" Jesse spoke loudly, getting the attention of their gathering, ignoring his friend's protest of ' _Dude, don't!'_ to get everyone's attention, "I want to propose a toast to get the party started. Now we all know how much Beca loves attention," the comment got some chuckles and Cynthia Rose gave the brunette a playful nudge, "So I'll go ahead and do this in a way Beca's most comfortable with …short."

More chuckles came while the woman he teased gave him the finger even while grinning.

"Seriously though, tomorrow we celebrate the love of an amazing couple, but tonight we're all here for one half of that couple. Don't tell Chloe, but my favorite half. So everyone lift 'em up," they all did so, including Beca, "and throw 'em back…Beca Mitchell!"

"Beca Mitchell!" the member of their part repeated and Beca shyly lifted her own glass towards them in response.

The night, and the party, progressed with everyone finding their own ways to entertain themselves that didn't include surrounding the soon-to-be-wed woman. Beca found herself at the bar with Jesse sitting beside her, a small collection of empty glasses and bottles in front of them.

Jesse laughed as he watched his friend finish writing on her inner arm; the sleeves that were rolled up having been pushed even further upwards until she completed it. He craned his neck to read the message before the woman allowed the sleeve to fall back down a bit, half covering the markings.

"Overkill, don't you think?"

Beca scoffed.

"Remember junior year? That stupid party you dragged me to and then disappeared on me. I ended up being poked awake by a cop in the park. I was too trashed to give them any contact information and got stuck in the drunk tank."

Jesse laughed at the memory as he signaled for more drinks. Beca was already way beyond the point she wanted to be to keep a clear head for the night, but did nothing to protest his order as her judgement was definitely beginning to leave her.

"Let's play a game," he declared, and got a groan from his friend who put her head on the bar top for a moment before the slightly sticky texture made her pull right back up.

"I don't _want_ to play a game. I want to go home, or better yet to my fiancé. Can you just tell me where they are?

"Nope, not time yet," he declared as their next round was set in front of them, "Now let's play. Let's play…Plead the Fifth."

"The hell is that?" she asked, already beginning to drink what was given to her.

"I ask you three questions, you can only plead the fifth to not answer on one of them. Once you do, you can't use it again and _have_ to answer whatever I ask."

"Can you tell me the questions all at once and let me decide then?"

"No, one at a time," his answer got another groan.

"That's stupid."

"Shut up, it'll be fun," he drummed his hands on the bar for a moment with excitement as he came up with his first question, "First question…where's the weirdest place you and Chloe have ever done the deed?"

Beca choked a bit on her drink in surprise.

"Dude!"

"You can plead the fifth, but then you have to answer whatever else I ask."

Beca groaned and took another big drink with Jesse already calling for another.

"So what's going to be?"

She mumbled something Jesse couldn't hear, "What was that?"

She sighed and ran her hand through her hair, "The Treble bus, ok."

Jesse had to stop himself from spitting out his beer.

"What? When? I can't-What?"

"Are those your next questions?" she asked, laughing at the combination of his reaction plus the alcohol taking effect.

"I just-I…the Treble bus? Really?"

Beca grinned wildly, a spark alighting in her eyes, "Oh yeah."

Jesse shuddered, "I rode on that bus. I slept on that bus. Oh my God, I _ate_ on the bus!"

She snickered at him and shrugged, drinking some more.

"Ok, um, wow, give me a second," he said trying to think of his next question while still trying to get over his shock at the information, "How about…what does Chloe do that annoys you the most?"

"I'll plead the fifth on that one, for sure," she remarked, "I'm not answering that. Don't need it getting out to your girlfriend. You can't keep anything from her."

"Alright, fair," he began, wanting to pick a good one for the final questions since she wouldn't be able to deny answering it. After a moment, he came up with it, "What made you decide to ask Chloe to marry you?"

Beca scoffed, "Easy, they legalized it, dude."

"I'm serious," he declared, pushing another drink towards her, hoping to diminish whatever filter might still be present and keeping her from divulging the personal story, "What was the moment you knew?"

The woman sighed, "It's stupid," she mumbled picking at the label on the bottle.

"Come on, Becaw, it's me."

Wiping her hand over her face, she clicked her tongue and slumped back in the seat.

"A couple years ago, I-"

"A couple _years?"_ his expression matching the surprise in his voice.

"Do you want to hear this or not?" Jesse held up his hands in apology.

"Alright, so a couple years ago, I had this nightmare one night; a bad one, like real messed up shit. The kind where you know you're asleep, but can't completely wake up and pull yourself out, you know?"

She paused, feeling the memory clearly, even as her mind continued to blur.

"And then Chloe, she…she reached out and wrapped her arm around me and pulled me close and she said," Beca could help the smile that tugged on her lips, "She said, 'I've got you,' and that was it."

"That was it?" Jesse asked, "Just like that?"

"Just like that," she nodded, "The next day I told her I had a last minute meeting at the label, went and got a ring instead."

"You're lying," Jesse accused leaning back in his chair, "You're messing with me; telling me some film worthy scene to make fun of me."

She shook her head, letting out a drunken giggle.

"True," she declared, then looked around, "Do you think they have tacos her?"

"Wait, wait, that doesn't make sense. If this happened years ago, how come you didn't ask until eight months ago?"

"Nerves, dude," she answered obviously, "Took me that long to work up the courage."

"Really? Why so long?"

" 'Cause she's _Chloe!_ " she replied with emphasis, "She's so amazing and pretty and sweet and smart and pretty and she smells like apples and there's this noise she makes when we're-"

"Bup-Bup-Bup! That's enough!" he declared holding his hands just away from his ears in preparation to cover them if he had to, "I don't need to know about _that_. Here, you finish this for me. I'm going to bathroom, and when I come back, we're talking about something else."

Beca gave him half a wave as she finished her drink and then started on his. Her mind was all wrapped up in her previous train of thought. All the ways she loved the redhead; all the reasons Chloe was way out of her league. She had no idea how long she sat there, her mind filled with thoughts and images of her fiancé, a title she still hadn't really gotten used to that would soon be replaced by a new one.

She grinned to herself thinking about it.

Wife. Chloe was going to be her _wife_.

A new drink was in front of Beca without her ordering it. Jesse wasn't back yet; she wondered if one of the others asked for it. Before she could look around or question it, a new voice spoke up from the previously empty seat on the other side of her.

"Looked like you could use a fresh one."

A middle aged woman with features too blurred to make out was beside her.

"Thanks," she mumbled as she grabbed the new drink and started in on it; judgement and clear thinking nowhere close to where she was anymore to tell her to stop.

After a few moments, Beca felt a strange tickling feeling on her right arm. Looking down, she furrowed her brow in confusion as she saw the stranger's finger trailing up and down forearm.

Well that's a weird thing to do to someone.

"What?" Beca asked, realizing the woman had been speaking.

At the question, though the drunk girl couldn't see it, the older woman's flirtatious smile faltered a bit before she put it back on.

"I was just noticing that you're a left," she nodded to Beca's left hand as it held her drink, "Don't think I've ever had the pleasure of first-hand experience seeing what a lefty can do. Would you like to show me?"

She added an extra purr to her voice and used her nails to give a light scratch to the movements on her arm. Beca pulled her arm up to rub her other palm over the area that now tickled a bit as she answered with a shrug.

"Do the same stuff everyone else does, just with my left."

The woman sighed and deflated a before trying a new method which involved leaning forward to make sure her cleavage was well visible. As she did so, she noticed the numbers poking out from beneath the sleeve.

"Oh, looks like someone got here first."

"Huh?"

"This here," she touched her finger to the 4, "who's the lucky one with this number?"

Beca grinned, "M'lucky. She's so…" she trailed off and leaned her head on her hand with a chuckle, "Don't tell Aubrey I said this, but she _did_ give me a toner, even back then. Every day."

"What, like, she works in your office or something?" the woman asked confused why she was talking about toner.

"Office?" Beca repeated and laughed, "She's not an officer. She's…She's my Bella. Mmm, my Bella."

Beca ran her fingers across the number reverently, pressing down too hard and smudging it a bit.

"No, damn it!" she groaned, "It's smudged. S'all messed up now!"

The flirtatious woman looked over and shrugged.

"It's barely anything," she noted, "It's fine."

"It's permanent marker," she complained of the utensil she'd reached over and stole from behind the bar, "Why-Why's it called permamanent if it smudges?"

"Permanent on paper sweetheart," she remarked, "Only one way something like that stays on skin. It looks to me like you're no stranger to ink."

Beca looked at her arm, she followed the line of numbers on her inner arm, trailing her eyes down to where her most recent tattoo was; a 'C' on her inner wrist she'd had done as part of her first anniversary gift to Chloe. Her fiancé had been over the moon. Beca doing something so permanent had her girlfriend crying tears of happiness.

Because it was permanent!

Beca suddenly got off the stool, knees buckling at first, nearly causing her to knock over her seat. The stranger grabbed her arm to steady her, she said something but Beca didn't pay any attention, only muttering, "Gotta go."

The brunette stumbled a bit on her way out of the bar, nearly falling on her face as she stepped out onto the sidewalk. She wandered a few feet but it felt like a lot more to her unsteady steps and tilting perspective.

A lit up sign caught her attention. Her boots thumping awkwardly as she walked up to it. Her lip curled when she realized what she was looking at. With a smirk, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the marker.

She wasn't sure how much longer it was when she finally found herself where she wanted to be. The bell rang over her head and she blinked a few times in the new light. A tall man came to the counter to greet her.

"What can I do for you?" he asked and Beca closed the distance to the glass counter.

"Yeah, I need you to…I'd like one tattoo please," she fumbled the request out.

He chuckled, "Sorry lady, I can't help you."

"No, dude, look," she started, touching her hand to her forehead to try clearing her thoughts, "I need it, in case- and I've already did half the work for you. Just need you to trace it."

"I'm sorry, but you've got to be sober to get inked in my shop."

"Dude, I've never been more sober!" Beca tried to argue. Shed her arms out wide, "I'll walk a line for you so great you'll think I'm Johnny Cash."

"Yeah, sure," he dismissed, "Still not helping you."

"C'mon man, just look at it," she grabbed the end of her sleeve and began to pull it up to show what she'd written.

"Don't make me throw you out, ok?" he said, really not wanting to have to get forceful with a woman; and such a little one at that.

"Fine!" she accepted with irritation, "You're just a Luke knockoff anyway!"

"Yeah, I don't know what that means," he replied dryly, having no idea who Luke was that she'd apparently compared him to.

She started to stomp out the door and he was just about to turn back to what he was doing when she came back suddenly.

"Wait."

"What?" her voice sounding more urgent.

"Did you get that Johnny Cash thing I said earlier?"

"Out," he pointed at the door.

"Fine!"

She was tired of walking and tired of being out where stupid non-Luke's wouldn't help her and weird ladies thought left-handed people couldn't do the same as right-handed people. She was just tired all around. The brunette wanted to go home and cuddle up with Chloe. But she didn't know where Chloe was. She dropped down to sit on the curb in a huff, wishing she knew where the beautiful redhead was.

She shoved her hands in her jacket pockets and looked down at it when she felt her phone in it. Pulling it out, she mentally criticized herself for being so empty headed.

She should just call her! Duh!

Beca looked at her screen, squinting for a long time as she tried to make out the little letters on the keyboard for her password. She couldn't decipher anything on the screen well enough to enter anything. Remembering the feature on her phone that she had previously called pointless, Beca pushed down on her home button until she heard the automated voice ask what she wanted to do.

"I need you to call…call her Chloe."

The phone beeped and the voice came again – Siri! That's what they called this thing, Beca randomly remembered.

' _You want to make a call?'_

"Yeah call Chloe," she repeated herself.

' _I'm sorry I don't understand Calc Lowy.'_

"What?" Beca spoke with surprised annoyance, not able to recognize how her voice slurred as she tried to make her command, "That's not even a thing. Call Chloe!"

' _I'm sorry I couldn't find Kirby in your contacts.'_

"Because that's not a person!" she hollered giving the phone a shake and pushed the button once more, "Call Chloe you piece of shit!"

' _Ok, here's the number for Pierce County Cabs. Would you like me to call?'_

Beca stared at the phone in confusion. She had no idea how what she had said became that. Then again, she could use a cab; it would be nice not to walk anymore and would make it easier to get to Chloe. Connecting the call, she heard the phone ring twice before a woman picked up.

"Hi," she cleared her throat, hoping to not sound as drunk as she clearly was, "Yes I need a cab. Please. Where? Oh um…d'you know the billboard with that bearded chicken guy? He's like a captain? Colonel! You're right! Yeah, so um, he's on a billboard, looking like he's got some secret and he judging-what? Oh, street signs."

She looked around and stood up, walking over to the sign at the intersection. She lifted her phone up to it for extra light and was eventually able to make enough guesses that the woman figured out what she meant.

"Garland! Like Judy!" she remarked, excited because it seemed she was finally getting somewhere, "Hey if I said to you I could walk a line so good you'd think I'm Johnny Cash, you'd get it, right?" she paused as the woman responded to her question with a question and then answered, "A few drinks, yeah. How'd you know?"

A short while passed with Beca sitting on the curb again, this time moving her fingers deliberately as if she were playing piano and humming the notes for each invisible key. A car soon pulled up and slowed to a stop in front of where she sat. The woman rose to her feet as the window rolled down and the man driving spoke.

"You called for a cab?"

Beca eyed him suspiciously and held out her hand as if trying to ensure he couldn't come any closer; though he made no move to get out of the car.

"How'd you know?" she asked with a paranoid accusation in her tone.

"I'm the cab," he replied, gesturing to the car he sat in.

"Oh," Beca voiced and hurriedly went to the door, "Thank God, you can take me to Chloe."

"Yeah, sure, wherever you want," he agreed, having dealt with his fair share of drunks, "Come on in."

She happily climbed in the back and he waited until she got settled before looking back over his shoulder and through the partition.

"Where to?"

"I told you; to Chloe," she spoke with finality.

"Well, you have to tell me where she is first," he said with a chuckle.

Beca's happiness crashed down and she slumped back against the seat.

"But I don't…" she paused, "they didn't tell me where they were taking her."

"Oh," the man voiced, speculating now on what kind of situation he found himself in the middle of.

Beca felt deflated. She didn't know where she was. All she wanted to was to see her in front of her; to be able to reach out and touch her skin. She was about to ask him to just take her home when she, for some reason, remembered something.

She thought of being home with Chloe; the way the high spirited woman would always pop into the shower when Beca was in there. Since that first shower intrusion years ago, it became something of a thing with them. Especially after they moved in together two years earlier. Beca would eye her as she walked in with one brow lifted while Chloe would just shrug with a spark in her eyes and say they were saving on the water bill.

"Shower," she said suddenly, and then tapped excitedly on the partition, "Take me to the shower."

"Ok," he agreed, "What's your address?"

"No," she shook her head, "Not home. The shower; the closest shower. I need to get in one now."

"Alright, calm down. I'll find you a shower," he declared, driving down the road.

Beca spent the ride looking at her phone's locked background. She was trying to trace Chloe's face but her finger kept trying to slide the screen as she misjudged how much pressure she was putting on it. She was so focused on what she was doing she didn't realize they'd stopped until the driver spoke up.

"Oh!" she said setting her phone on the seat and looking out the window for a moment before getting out, ready to run inside to get to the nearest shower.

"Hey!" he called out to her from his window, stopping the woman mid-run, "$22.50."

"Oh yeah," she put her hands in her jacket pocket and pulled out the bills she had in there. She tried to count but again her inebriated eyesight betrayed her. Holding the money out to him, she asked, "IS this it?"

He took it and spoke after flipping through the cash, "This is eighteen dollars."

"Right," she said with a nod and turned to go until he spoke, once more.

"No, not right," he corrected, "You need about five more."

"Oh, ok," Beca clumsily forced her hand into the tight pocket of her skinny jeans where she remembered putting her change from the grocery that morning.

She grabbed what she felt in there but with her hand clasped around it in a fist, was having trouble pulling it out. She let out a few quiet grunts as she tried to tug her hand and money out; not making the connection that she had to adjust her method of holding it to do so. A few of the more forceful tugs actually had her nearly lose balance as her hips were jerked forward by them.

"Forget it," he remarked after watching the struggle for far too long, "Just…go. Enjoy your shower or whatever."

He drove off, leaving Beca to go inside the brightly lit building he'd brought her to.

"Hello, how are you tonight?" a perky woman seemed to come out of nowhere to ask her. She wore a black shirt with a logo on the chest.

"Um…" Beca wondered, still partially distracted by her fight with her pocket, "Shower?"

"Sure, we _do_ have showers in our locker rooms," she informed as she pointed to the sign marking the room she spoke about.

"Awesome."

"Are you a member?" the woman asked, stepping in front of Beca as she attempted to take a step.

"No. What? No, I just," still tugging at her fist and looking down at the offending material as she spoke, "I just need the shower please."

"Ooh, I'm sorry," she didn't sound sorry, "Member's only."

Beca groaned with frustration and exhaustion.

"Listen, I –" her words were cut off as her hand was finally pulled loose with more force than she'd intended, a small shower of coins flying across the lobby with a chorus of clatter.

The woman squeaked in alarm, looking at the mess that had scattered across the floor and, in some cases, under the machines.

"What the hell was …" she started to ask, stopping when she saw Beca was gone.

The woman rolled her eyes and went towards the locker room; not having seen which way the weird woman went but she needed to double check before she just assumed she'd left. She walked in, first checking the showers as it was obviously her destination when she came in. Not seeing anyone there, she did a quick walkthrough of the rest of the locker room before grumbling about drunks as she walked back out.

Once the employee was gone, a lower level locker opened and Beca poked her head out from the inside. Seeing the coast was clear, she snickered to herself as she crawled out gracelessly.

"Score one for the little people," she praised herself as she got out and got to her feet with more effort than normal.

She trailed a hand along the lockers, and then the wall, for balance as she made her way to the curtained stalls. She practically fell to the floor once she was in one. She tried to get back up to undress and turn on the water, but she only stumbled back down to the tile. With a groan, she leaned back and spoke to herself, "Ok, down here's good."

She was waiting for a while, looking up anytime she heard someone walk into the locker room; expecting the curtain to slide across and an angelic face to pop in with that same spark in her eye. She began to hum to keep herself entertained as she attempted to wait patiently.

At one point the curtain was pulled open and a woman she didn't know had taken a half-step into the shower without realizing someone else was in there.

"No," Beca declared; making the woman jump and finally notice what was in front of her. Beca only continued, "No, you can't be in here! Only Chloe. You're, you're not Chloe. You're not allowed to share showers with me."

The woman hurried away in shock. Beca had thought she had settled that, but then the curtain was moved once more and it was the mean woman who worked there and a tall man wearing an identical shirt.

"Ma'am, you need to come out," he ordered unkindly.

" _I_ came out years ago," Beca remarked, "What about you?"

Her remark obviously flustered him a bit before his face hardened, "You need to leave the premises before I call the police."

"Call the police," Beca challenged, standing up with a dangerous wobble to lean against the wall in front of him and clutch the curtain with her opposite hand, "…call the police 'n when they come'll tell them that a male employee was in the ladies room while I was in the shower."

The threat was a mess of slurs and odd timing, but she was pretty confident she got the point across.

"Now go way!" she ordered, "I'm waiting for Chloe!"

"If she's got any sense she'll stay far away from you," he spat, patience nonexistent.

Angrily, Beca got in his face, "You don't know what you're talkin' bout. You don't know her and you can't talk about her! She's gonna come, you wait."

The man rolled his eyes at the drunk.

"Whatever," he put his hands up, "I'm calling the police."

"Go ahead!" Beca hollered pulling the curtain closed once again and tripping back to the floor, "She'll come. She always comes."

She was in the middle of Titanium, hoping it would bring her girl to her just like it had the first time. She kept mixing up the verses and having to start over, but she was determined. But soon…soon, sounding like an angel singing along with her…there she was. It took Beca a moment when she looked up to believe she wasn't seeing things.

It was really her.

It was her.

"Chloe!"

Beca went to hug her, not realizing the way she'd basically tackled her fiancé and nearly sent them both crashing to the hard tile floor. She was aware that she was talking, but was not one hundred percent sure what she was saying. She was too busy wrapping her arms around her and burrowing against her. Chloe!

"Here I am," Chloe spoke in response; apparently Beca had said something at out loud. The redhead swiped a lock of disheveled hair out of Beca's face, "You ok, sweetie?"

Beca only pushed herself into Chloe again, taking a deep breath at her neck; apples.

"I missed you," she spoke with a breathy reverence, trying to push herself even closer to the girl, though it wasn't at all possible.

She had no idea how it happened, but suddenly, Beca was lying down looking up at the familiar ceiling of their shared bedroom. She didn't remember coming home, but here she was. Her droopy eyes caught Chloe's; they were bright even in the dark.

She was so lucky.

Reaching out, she took Chloe's hand, immediately feeling her respond with a light grip of her own.

"Chloe," she began, waiting until Chloe responded before going on.

There was so much she wanted to say. She wanted to tell her that she was her everything. She was her home. Money, music, friends, family…if it all went away tomorrow, Beca would be just fine as long as she had Chloe's hand in hers.

She wanted to tell her that she didn't know how she lived before Chloe; that she didn't think she'd even really been breathing until that first gasp of breath that came when seeing those electric eyes the first time.

But instead of saying all that, Beca only smiled sleepily and spoke, a simpler truth.

"I can't wait to marry you."

She caught a glimpse of her smile before falling asleep.

* * *

 **Hope you liked it! Let me know...or don't, I mean I can't tell you how to live your life.**


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